State Comptroller: City DOE Undercounts Dropouts
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
A report from the state comptroller finds more city high schoolers may be dropping out than previously recorded.
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the dropout rate for the 2004-2008 school years may have been as high as 16.5 percent, rather than the 13 percent cited by the city Department of Education.
The comptroller believes this difference is because the DOE is reporting students as transferring out of the system, instead of as actual dropouts.
DiNapoli wants the DOE to change its record-keeping practices to follow those of the state education department to determine whether a student is a dropout.
In response, the city education officials say students often leave without notifying schools. They also say following the state's system is an unfair burden to principals and administrators.